96 STURTEV ant's NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 



Other parts of India and the Eastern Archipelago, in the Pacific Islands, Brazil, Peru, 

 and Zanzibar, as Sinunonds ' writes. 



Blepharis edulis Pers. Acanihaceae. 



Persia, Northwestern India, Nubia and tropical Arabia. The leaves are eaten crude.* 



Blighia sapida Kon. Sapindaceae. akee fruit. 



Guinea. This small tree is a native of Guinea and was carried to Jamaica by Captain 

 Bligh ' in 1793. It is much esteemed in the West Indies as a fruit. The fruit is fleshy, 

 of a red color tinged with yellow, about three inches long by two in width and of a three- 

 sided form. When ripe, it splits down the middle of each side, disclosing three shining, 

 jet-black seeds, seated upon and partly immersed in a white, spongy substance called the 

 aril. This aril is the eatable part. Fruits ripened in the hothouses of England have not 

 been pronoxmced very desirable. Unger * says, however, the seeds have a fine flavor 

 when cooked and roasted with the fleshy aril. 



Boerhaavia repens Linn. Nyctagineae. hog-weed. 



Cosmopolitan tropics. According to Ainslie,' the leaves are eaten in India, and 

 Graham says in the Deccan it is sometimes eaten by the natives as greens. It is a common 

 and troublesome weed of India. The young leaves are eaten by the natives as greens 

 and made into curries.* 



Bomarea edulis Herb. Amaryllideae. white Jerusalem artichoke. 



Tropical America. The roots are round and succulent. and when boiled are said to 

 be a light and delicate food. A farinaceous or mealy substance is also made of them, 

 from which cream is made, wholesome and very agreeable to the taste. The roots are 

 sold under the name of white Jerusalem artichoke.' 



B. glaucescens Baker. 



Ecimdor. The fruit is sought after by children on account of a sweet, gelatinous 

 pulp, resembling that of the pomegranate, in which the seeds are imbedded.* 



B. salsilla Mirb. 



Chile. The tubers are available for human food.' 



Bombax ceiba Linn. Malvaceae, god-tree, silk-cotton tree. 



South America. The leaves and buds, when young and tender, are very mucilaginous, 

 like okra, and are boiled as greens by the negroes of Jamaica.'" The fleshy petals of the 



" Simmonds, P. L. Trop. Agr. 387, 388. 1889. 

 ' Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 425. 1879. 

 ' Rhind, W. Hist. Veg. King. 367. 1855. 

 < Unger, F. V. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 315. 1859. 

 ' Ainslie, W. Mat. Ind. 2:205. 1826. 

 Wight, R. Icon. Ph. 874. 1840-1853. 



'Andrews, C. Bot. Reposit. 10:649. 1797. (Alslroemeria edulis) 

 'Hooker, W. J. Bot. Misc. 2:198, 238. 1831. (Alslroemeria dulcis) 

 Card. Chron. 17:76. 1882. 

 ""Lunan, J. Hort. Jam. 1:243. 1814. 



